Local militant killed in south Kashmir, another encounter underway in north

In another incident, a search operation was launched by the army in Baramulla’s Sopore to smoke out hidden militants.

File photo of Indian army soldiers patrolling the Jammu-Srinigar National Highway. (AFP)

A local militant was killed in a gunfight with security forces on Wednesday in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district triggering protests in the area even as another encounter was underway in north Kashmir’s Baramulla.

Police said the militant was killed after the forces challenged militants in Bevoora-Hadigam village of Bijbehara in Anantnag triggering an encounter.

An Indian Army spokesperson in Srinagar confirmed the death and said that the combing operation continued for some time after the encounter. An army Twitter handle added that a weapon was recovered.

The militant was identified as Basit Rasool Dar of Marhama village in Bijbehara. Locals said that Basit was the son of a prominent banker and was pursuing B Tech from Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) before joining militants a few months back.

As soon as the news of Basit’s death spread, many came out to protest in Bijbehara. Thousands of people gathered for his funeral as this report was being filed.

In another incident, the army engaged militants in a gunfight after launching a search operation in Baramulla’s Bomai Sopore to smoke out hidden militants.

The police control room in Sopore said the search operation was launched after security forces received inputs about the presence of militants in the area.

“As the search operation was underway, some shots were fired initiating a gunfight. The operation is still underway,” an official at PCR Sopore said.